A joint working group was formed under the Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA) signed between the two countries on 15 September last year to develop the overall relationship between Bangladesh and Australia, including increasing trade and investment. The first meeting of the Joint Working Group was held in Canberra, the capital of Australia.
The meeting discussed various issues including increasing trade between Bangladesh and Australia and mutual cooperation in this field, increasing investment in goods and services, cooperation in energy and defense.
Australia also expressed interest in surveying the two countries’ trade and investment prospects and the dynamics of economic relations.
The Joint Working Group also agreed to encourage the enhancement of institutional communication between the top trade bodies and non-governmental organizations in order to further enhance bilateral trade between the two countries.
The two sides also agreed to examine the possibility of exporting Australian raw materials such as cotton, wool and leather products to Bangladesh through a third country market and to the Australian market through a buyback system.
In addition, Australia has expressed interest in enhancing Bangladesh’s trade capacity and assisting in human resource development.
In this regard, interest was expressed in providing opportunities for higher education in Australia to more Bangladeshi students through cooperation in technical and vocational education and development of the country’s education profile.
The Bangladesh delegation was led by Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Senior Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, and Australia was led by Gary Kawan, First Assistant Secretary, North and South Asia, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
In this discussion there were Tim Ian, Associate Secretary of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Sufiur Rahman, Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to Australia, and Jeremy Brewer, Australia’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh.
